Substantiality
by TrulySheena
Summary: An alternate universe AU story about the Turks. Set in Shinra's two prestigious schools, everyone's favorite group must deal with the trials and tribulations of what we call real life.


**Hey everyone! As you all (should've) read on the description, this is an Alternate Universe about the Turks. School days! Typical, but I've been excited to write it for days. Here we go!**

**-TrulySheena**

--

Reno grinned at his reflection in the mirror and gave himself a thumbs up in confidence. It was the first day of high school, a very important day for an adolescent indeed. Giving his uniform another look-over, he started to think. Yeah, he thought he looked great with half of his shirt hanging out of his pants, blazer open to reveal his mismatched buttons, but what would Shinra think?

The Shinra Secondary High School for Extraordinary Students was located in the center of Midgar, the biggest city on the entire planet of Gaia. Above Midgar lay the 'plate' where all idealistic preteens dreamt of having the chance to go there and make their single mothers proud. Secondary highs hosted students of ages sixteen until they hit twenty, in which all students were then either promoted to work for Shinra Corporations themselves or graduated to continue their education at University.

With the Shinra High School sitting in the center of the plate, around it lay the military school, The Military Academy of Shinra Corporations, itself in the outer circle. This was because mako, a potent energy needed to power the city, lay in each of the eight points that were divided equidistantly in the outer circle. The energy left over from each section of the academy went into the corresponding district below it. Yeah, Reno could care less about it, but he had no idea if they would be testing him on that or not during school.

The difference between the two facilities was that the academy's main focus was to bring out the brawn in its students and raise them like soldiers. Including rigorous training, no freedom whatsoever, they also had nasty, jail-cell breakfast and lunch - to balance that out, the more exquisite dinners took place in one of the eight long halls that stretched from Reno's school, and after the meal, everyone _dormed_. Reno wanted dorms.

"Reno! You gotta go up soon!" His mom shouted from the other room of their rather small house.

"Alright!" He called back, and took another needed deep breath. _This is your first day of high school!_ He thought. _Man up!_ Grabbing his favorite red and black school bag and throwing it about his shoulders, Reno walked nervously out of the bedroom and all but stumbled into his weary mother.

"Oh, look at my big boy!" She said with a large smile, beaming in joy. Leena, which was her name, was a very beautiful woman. Obviously the one Reno had gotten his good looks from with her red hair and pale green eyes, it was hard to believe that Reno's father had just walked out when he wasn't even a toddler. But that wasn't a problem, as her son was turning to be a fine man. Like all mothers do, she began to fiddle with his upturned collar.

"Ma, don't! You had me looking however you wanted all through middle school, give me a break, please?" He pleaded, corners of his mouth turned up in embarrassment.

Leena sighed and, returning his collar to the way he had it, began pacing around the room in excitement. "Sorry, it's just not something you see everyday, your son going to Shinra."

Reno scratched the back of his head. "Uh, well, technically you will see it everyday. For the next four years."

His mother shrieked and wrapped her arms around him, forcing him into a motherly death-squeeze. "Oh, shut up, you. Just go already before I start crying. Did you call Rude already? I don't want you walking by your-"

"Yes, ma. I'm meeting him at the park in Sector 5."

"Alright. You have all your books?"

"Yes."

"Do you have your gym uniform? I know Rude has his."

Rude was Reno's absolute best friend. Having have met during their gym class back in the seventh year of school when they were twelve years old, the two were inseperable once they were forced to be sit-up partners. Rude pointed out Reno's weird goggles while holding his feet. Reno, who stopped mid-crunch, pointed out that Rude was growing hair on his chin but not on his crown. The friendship was meant to be.

"Yes," he said, sighing audibly as he tapped the pocket of his bookbag in which the clothes were held. His finger made a small thumping sound as it hit the compartment, showing that the only things inside were made out of cloth.

"Clean under-"

"_Alright_, ma, I'll see you when I get home and tell you every single little thing. From the names of my teachers to the number of tiles I stepped on inbetween classes."

His dear mother laughed before kissing her son on the cheek. He was getting taller than she was now, and all she could do was to stand on her toes just to get a good look at his growing face. Reno couldn't keep the smile from peeling across his face; he gave his mother a one armed hug before making his way out the door.

---

"Let me see your schedule, dude!" Reno said, throwing his own to the side to take a look at Rude's. The both of them were in the lunchroom, finding out their corresponding class times. Afterwards, all students were to report to the assembly room to meet with the principal, in which he would assign every student to their homeroom and homeroom teacher. Classes themselves would start at nine o'clock sharp.

"Go ahead," he said, nonchalantly shrugging. Wearing the school uniform perfect to a T, there was nothing wrong with his attire. Even his choice of sunglasses over fingerless gloves made the suit only look even more classy on him. Older girls looked at the sixteen year old boys as they passed, giggling and pointing at whoever they preferred more. The boys looked at each other and smirked, both thinking the same thing: secondary high school was way more awesome than high school could've ever been.

"We have the same schedule, man, this just keeps getting better!" The redhead said, pounding his best friend's fist as a feeling of badass-ness spread through his body. Yeah, school was the best. It was only a few minutes after eight and the year was already starting off perfectly.

Knowing that the assembly started within the next fifteen minutes, the pair began to walk around the school, looking for the audience room. But it wasn't before long that the halls began to empty out, and the clocks on the walls only showed the time passing . . . eight-twenty-eight . . . eight-forty-two . . . Why couldn't time just stop? How come there wasn't a hall monitor anywhere?

But aha! Their wishes were granted immediately, sort of. A heavy-set man with a thick beard that covered his face, he began to laugh when he found the two. Pulling them by their collars, the man, whose nametag read, 'Hello, my name is Heidegger', dragged the two back to where they were supposed to be. At the very end of the assembly.

"Reno! Rude! How nice of you to join us," the also large, blonde man on stage said, making the crowd of cute girls and maturing guys erupt in laughter. "I am your principal, Mr. Shinra. Would you two please be so intelligent to go sit down anywhere?"

Cursing under his breath, Reno sat down at the closest seat to him, pulling his tie off in defiance. Rude, in his normal, speechless manner, sat down beside him, crossing his arms and legs to give off an older look. All four years of students just seemed to be staring them down, some with sneers on their faces conflicting with the smiles of others. Shinra cleared his throat, and requesting that the student stand up with his or her name call and the sector they lived in, began to read the names off of the list into the microphone.

"Freshman, Elena," was the first name he said.

"Here!" A girl shouted above the rest, standing up in the crowd. "Sector 8, Mr. Shinra!" Reno almost jumped out of his seat. Although she was small, the girl was the hottest thing he'd ever seen! He could only see the back of her uniformed body for now, but as soon as she turned around, he was sure that just meeting her fleeting eyes would make him stand up like a missile just waiting to be fired.

"Talk about hot!" Reno yelped, running a thousand excuses to get up and go talk to her through his head. Rude scoffed and turned away from him, listening for the next roll call.

Principal Shinra nodded in contentment. "Freshman, Tseng?"

"I am here, sir," a man replied from the left corner of the room. The two friends could not believe their eyes; this 'freshman' had to be too tall and too refined to be sixteen! His hair was slicked back into a thin ponytail, and in addition, the way he wore his suit seemed too . . . Mature.

"He was raised with a pole up his ass, I'd tell you that," Reno said, chuckling while pointing at Tseng. The moment Tseng began to turn, the redheaded boy looked away, not wanting to be caught. He shook his leg nervously as he waited for the next name.

"Freshman, Cissnei?" Principal Shinra called next, and a girl with curly, rosy-pink hair jumped up. Without a word, she placed a hand on her hip, and turned to look at the two of the boys sitting in the corner by themselves. The principal followed her gaze, and catching the sight of the two of them once more, nodded.

"Reno, Rude. Freshman."

"Yes, sir!" They both said, Reno jumped up with a salute. Rude sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers beneath his glasses. His friend couldn't become anymore moronic, even during the moments of extreme tension. The classes became dead silent, all eyes piercing into the duo's bodies like blades.

"The five of you will report to one class. The minisculity of the class is due to the want of aiding every student's individual needs. You will report to homeroom 7-F with your homeroom teacher, who will be escorting you to the room and will tell you everything you need to know."

Tseng raised his hand, standing still and patient while waiting for the prinicipal to call on him.

"Yes, Tseng?"

"Our homeroom teacher, who is -"

"I am," said a voice from behind all of the seats. What felt like an immortal chill spread through the room, stopping every student from their regular banter. The attractive man, whose short black hair and pale skin was accented by his red eyes, adjusted his tie in silence.

"Hello, Cissnei, Elena, Reno, Rude, and Tseng," he greeted, glancing at each student with their respective names. "Please follow my lead in a single line. I am your homeroom teacher, Mr. Valentine."

--

**Haha! I hope you all enjoyed what I have so far! I've already developed some great ideas with Xiaohongshu for the later chapters; who knows what'll happen! Read & review - if you didn't like it, I hope atleast you'll give it another chance with the second chapter.**


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